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First week in Singapore: are you my home now?


I came to a local coffee shop today and ordered an oat latte. Since I want to keep the tradition alive, overpriced lattes are going to be a thing for me here, too. Not daily though, sadly. I’m no longer working from a coffee shop anyway. Why? Because, wait for it—I have a full-time job now! How cool is that? And a little scary. I’m expected to show up every morning. No joke.

They gave me a nice cosy cubicle. Have you ever noticed how people use the word cosy when they don’t really want to say small? Still, I loved it. It has my name on it and everything. I can’t believe I actually landed a postdoc at my dream research centre. I still can’t believe I’m in Singapore!! Somebody pinch me, please.

I wake up every day at 7. I swim for 15–20 mins. You see what I did there? I was so surprised and happy to learn that having a pool in your condo is pretty much the norm here. Half of the apartments have a pool, gym, and some of them also have things like tennis courts, BBQ pits etc. So of course, I had to pick a place with a pool. Even if it meant settling for a slightly trashy kitchen, but hey, priorities, right? Then I make myself breakfast: bagels, Philadelphia spread, and two fried eggs. Then I walk to the university, where I work.

A week has passed, and I’m still settling in. Not so much physically anymore, more so emotionally now. I completed my induction and all the admin tasks in a day and have already started my research. My boss even said I settled in so quickly. But sometimes, when I walk home, reality hits that I’m no longer in the UK or Turkey, the only two places I’ve ever really known. Here, people speak (at least) three different languages other than English, and even the English feels a little different from what I’m used to (see Singlish). So it makes it even easier to feel like you’re not home.

I’ve been making trips to Mustafa Centre (if you know, you know—I only learned about it a week ago) back and forth all week. Now I finally have everything I need. I’ve met some new people, and I’m keeping in touch with family and close friends despite the 7-hour time difference. The weather is… well, a real challenge. It’s either too hot and humid or raining. But nothing I can’t handle. After all, the UK’s weather also required some adjusting. One interesting thing about Singapore is the air conditioning. It’s literally everywhere. So you keep bouncing between the super-hot, humid outdoors and the icy-cold indoors every time you step in or out of a building. I honestly don’t know how people aren’t getting sick all the time.

Still, sometimes when I’m alone, which is most of the time right now, unpleasant thoughts haunt me. Like, what am I even doing here, miles away from home? I had the same feelings when I first moved to the UK, and back then, I cried a lot. It’s normal to feel down when you move to a new city, let alone a whole new country. I don’t think I’m depressed (yet), and I definitely haven’t cried at all. But everything still feels like a giant dream. Not in the “living your dream” kind of way, but more like a Truman Show kind of way. I don’t know when reality will properly sink in, or how long I’ll keep up this brave big-girl face. But for now, I can gladly say things are going well. And I’m excited about what’s to come.



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